Keeping up Appearances
by Swordtheguy
Summary: There were a few rules Peridot held close to her: -Camp Pining Hearts is the height of Earth culture, -Never disassemble a machine or device before checking with Steven on the status of its owner, -Always make sure to mark your path when walking through Amethyst's room, -And most importantly, always maintain your uniform.


Amethyst's days tended to fall into one of two types. Either they were jammed pack with stuff (usually "Gem Business") or it was a day where she had next to nothing to do. This was the type of day she found herself in today. No rampaging Corrupted Gems, no ancient Gem tech, just… nothing. And while Amethyst didn't mind the occasional day off, too many in a row and she began to feel bored. You can only mess with Pearl so many times before it started to get a little samey.

Which is why Amethyst was now walking towards the barn. Peridot was always good for something to do, whether it was helping with her latest project or just watching some of that camping show she really liked.

"Yo, Peri! You around?" Amethyst called as she got to the barns entrance. There was no response, except for the sound of… something in the barn. "Peri? Lapis?" Amethyst called again. There was still no response, not even any noise this time. She walked into the barn, looking all around as she did, but she didn't see anyone. She didn't expect to see Lapis, as she was currently going on a joy-fly with Steven. But no Peridot? That was a bit odder.

As Amethyst was peeking around the tractor that sat near the back wall, she heard another noise. It sounded like quick, scrambling footsteps.

"Dot? C'mon. If that's you, just come out." The sound came from above, mostly likely the loft. "Dot?" she called again as she walked over to the ladder leading to the loft. As she began to climb the ladder, she heard more noise coming from the loft. There was definitely someone up there.

She reached the top of the ladder and peaked the edge of the loft. At first, she didn't see anything of note. The couch, the tv, an overturned crate with several of Peridot's "camper pairing charts" strewn on it. But then some movement caught the corner of her eye. Someone was behind the couch.

"Come on," Amethyst said as she slowly approached the couch. "Just some out…"

"No. I don't want to."

Amethyst stopped in her tracks at the voice. "Peridot? Is that you?"

There was a beat of silence, followed by a soft, "Yes."

"What are you doing, Dot?" Amethyst asked. "Why are you hiding?"

Amethyst took another step towards the couch, but Peridot loudly yelled, "No! Don't come over here!"

"Alright. Fine then," Amethyst said, folding her arms across her chest. "What's going on, dude? Why are ya avoiding me?"

Another beat before Peridot answered. "There's… been an… accident. With my experiment today."

Whatever confusion and mild frustration that Amethyst had been feeling immediately drained away. She took another step forward, but Peridot squealed in protest. Amethyst stopped again where she was. "What happened? Are you alright?" She made no effort to hide the worry in her voice.

"Yes. I am alright," Peridot said.

"Then… Why are you hiding?"

Silence.

"Peridot?"

"A… device that I was working on," Peridot began softly. "It's meant to help more efficiently regulate the energy usage of other, larger machines."

Amethyst nodded her head. "Right…"

"But… as I was working on it, a malfunction occurred. It discharged a large amount of energy… directly at me."

A single gasp escaped Amethyst's lips. "A discharge of-... And… And you're alright?"

"Physically, yes," Peridot answered. "The discharge of energy missed my projection and instead struck my gem." Amethyst felt her throat suddenly tighten. Forgetting herself, she quickly rushed passed the couch, ignoring Peridot's cries not to.

Behind the couch, Amethyst did indeed find Peridot. She was sitting, huddled into a ball. Her back was facing Amethyst, obscuring her gem from sight.

"Peridot," Amethyst said, doing her best to remain calm like Pearl or Garnet would. "You're gem… Is it…" She found it difficult to even finish the thought.

"My gem is fine," Peridot said. "Or… it will be. Eventually."

"E-eventually?" Amethyst gasped. "It's… not cracked, is it?"

"No. It's not."

"Then why aren't you looking at me?" Amethyst said, laying a hand on Peridot's shoulder.

"Because… Though it is not cracked, the damage is still visible."

Amethyst was completely unsure at what Peridot meant.

 _Not cracked… But the damage is still visible…_

"Peridot… Do… Do I need to get Steven? Or… maybe some water from Rose's fountain?"

"No. My gem has not been physically harmed. It's energy output has merely been disrupted slightly. It will return to normal after a few hours." Peridot paused, as if she was finished speaking. But then she continued, " But, the disruption is causing a… problem with my projection."

"You mean, like, your body and stuff?"

"Yes… And… I don't want you to see me."

For the second time that day, Amethyst felt like everything she had been feeling was quickly yanked away and replaced by an entirely new set of feelings. "You don't want me to see you?"

"No, I don't. The disruption has drastically altered my appearance. I… don't want you to see it."

"Peridot," Amethyst spoke slowly. "You don't have to hide from me. Nothing you could show me would… what, scare me off? Is that what you're worried about?"

Peridot said nothing in return, only pulling her shoulder out from Amethyst's grasp. Amethyst, however, was not planning on relenting. She grabbed Peridot's shoulder again, stopping just short of forcing her to turn around.

"Peridot. C'mon, dude. Don't do this to me," Amethyst said gently. "Just… I want to help."

Peridot was silent for a few moments before quietly saying, "You won't… look at me oddly?"

"Of course not, dude."

With only a second of hesitation, Peridot climbed to her feet and then slowly turned around. When they were finally face to face… Amethyst wasn't really sure what to make of it. At first glance, Peridot looked completely normal. Her hair was it's same pointy, triangular shape. Her gem, as described, looked completely untouched. And all her other features, from her nose, to her mouth, to her-

"Your visor, dude!" Amethyst exclaimed, suddenly realizing what was amiss. "It's gone."

Peridot visibly winced at Amethyst's words. "Yes… It is." She spoke haltingly, her eyes never quite meeting Amethyst's gaze. "The energy disruption in my gem is not allowing me to fully regenerate my form. Thus… I don't have my visor."

"That's it?" Amethyst asked. "That's the big deal?"

Peridot's brow furrowed as she spoke. "Of course it's a big deal! Don't you know what it means?"

"Uh… no," Amethyst answered, shaking her head.

Peridot scowled at Amethyst's response. "It's means I'm out of uniform!"

Amethyst blinked in confusion before saying, "Out of uniform? Dude, we don't have a uniform."

The green gem turned away, still scowling at the ground. "Yes, but that doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it kinda does," Amethyst said. "Like maybe on Homeworld it would matter, but here?" She shrugged. "People don't really care what you wear."

"Well, maybe I care," Peridot said, her voice dropping in volume as she spoke.

Amethyst bit her lip. She needed to watch what she said. She didn't want to upset Peridot further. Amethyst began whacking her memory, trying to think of what Steven had told her about conflict management.

"Okay. You're upset that your visor is gone," Amethyst began slowly. "And that you're out of uniform. But _why_ does that upset ya?"

Peridot pursed her lips. "Back on Homeworld, lower class Gems were instructed to always be in their designated uniform. After all, you wouldn't want to offend the sight of an elite if they happened to catch sight of you." She paused a moment, stealing a sideways glance at Amethyst before continuing. "I saw Gems who were, for whatever reason, unable to maintain their uniform. Even if only temporarily… There was always punishment to be had for those gems. Some more extreme than others."

"So ya don't want to be seen outside of uniform cause… you're afraid you'll get punished?"

"No. It's…" she trailed off into silence.

"Dot. It's okay," Amethyst grabbed her by the hand. "You can tell me, if you want."

Peridot sniffed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "I'm not worried about being punished. Like you said, people on this planet aren't too concerned with appearance modifiers. But, when an elite looks at me…"

"There are no 'elites' here, dude," Amethyst said before Peridot could finish. "You're far away from all that Homeworld junk. Ya don't have to worry about any of that."

"No, there _are_ elites here. Or, one elite, anyway."

"Who? Jasper?"

"No! Not Jasper! It's-..." Her eyes darted away as her cheeks began to fill with color. "It's… you."

"M-me?" Amethyst asked.

"Yes. You."

"Dude, I've never even been to Homeworld before. And in case you forgot, my gem is stunted. I doubt they'd be calling me an elite."

Peridot shook her head vigorously. "No, it doesn't matter what they think! You're an elite to me!"

It was now Amethyst's turn to blush. "I… You think I'm an elite?"

"Of course!" Peridot blurted out. "You're always fun to to be around, even during work. You always manage to find some humor in every situation." For the first time during the whole conversation, Peridot eyes locked onto Amethyst's. "You come by almost everyday. And… when I ask you why, you just say you like spending time with me. No one's ever said that to me before…"

Amethyst tried to speak, but no words came. She couldn't really believe what she was hearing. She had no idea Peridot felt that… strongly over their relationship.

Not that she was upset over the revelation. Just taken aback.

"Peridot. Listen, I don't care what you look like."

Peridot looked back towards Amethyst, the corners of her eyes shining due to the gathering of tears.

"I like being around you cause you're fun to hang out with. Not cause your always in uniform, or whatever."

"But- but my eyes!" Peridot sputtered. "I looked at my reflection in the pool outside the barn and, without my visor, the size and coloring of my eyes are off."

Amethyst grinned. "Dude, I Didn't even notice anything like that." She shrugged. "Though I did notice your boop."

"My… boop?"

Amethyst lightly poked Peridot on the tip of her nose. Her grin broadened. "Boop."

Peridot's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of green. "My boop," she said slowly.

"Yeah. It's pretty great."

Peridot was silent for a few moments as her gaze returned to the floor. "And… you really don't care about my appearance?"

In response, Amethyst wrapped an arm around Peridot and brought in close to her, before then holding her in a snug hug.

"As long as you keep being my Dot, I don't care what you look like, dude."

Peridot just hung in the embrace before the tears that had been threatening to spill finally happened. She returned Amethyst's embrace as tightly as she could and saying only one thing, her mouth muffled by pressing against Amethyst's shoulder.

"Wow, thanks…"


End file.
